Warm Farro with Mushrooms and Crispy Beets

Author Notes:Mushrooms and farro—has ever a better texture combination existed? Topped with crunchy beets, this meal is just an amazing textural experience: juicy mushrooms, buttery farro with just a bit of bite, and nice, crispy beets. It is absolute heaven.

This recipe is so, so easy and quick to prepare and leftovers are perfect for lunch the next day (although the beets won’t be crunchy the next day, it’s totally okay because it still tastes amazing.) This recipe works wonderfully as an entrée or as a beautiful side dish to fish or chicken. For a vegan option, simply omit the butter. —Kylie Thompson

Food52 Review: Nutty farro, meaty mushrooms, and delightfully earthy beets: This recipe is all I needed on an it’s-still-winter-but-I-wish-it-were-spring evening! I went into the cooking process thinking it might need a little more oomph in the form of dressing, but finishing the dish with more lemon juice and parsley adds all the brightness it needs. The mild bitterness of the herb and acid meld seamlessly with the rich grain and buttery veggies. As Kylie recommended, I brought the leftovers to lunch the following day—talk about a NSDL! My coworkers were jealous.

It's great as a topping for a green salad as well as on its own. When I made it a second time, I broiled the beets as opposed to frying them: They were still satisfyingly crispy! —Rebecca Firkser

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1
cup farro

2
cups mixed mushrooms (I used cremini and oyster)

1 or 2
small beets (Chioggia and/or baby golden beets)

1/3
cup fresh parsley

1
lemon

1
tablespoon butter (optional)

1
tablespoon olive oil

1
tablespoon vegetable oil

1
pinch salt and pepper, plus more to taste

In This Recipe

Directions

Prep your ingredients: Prepare the farro according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside. Halve the mushrooms (or cut into bite-sized pieces). Peel and very thinly slice the beets. Roughly chop the parsley leaves. Juice half the lemon. Cut the other half into wedges.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet, Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until browned and slightly caramelized, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Once the mushrooms are nice and browned, add the lemon juice and all but a few pinches of parsley and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the farro to the skillet and stir gently to combine all the ingredients.

Optional step: Add 1 tablespoon of butter and continue to gently stir the farro until the butter has melted and is mixed throughout the farro.

Remove the farro from the skillet into a serving bowl. Wipe out the skillet.

Add vegetable oil to the skillet until about 1/4-inch deep and heat to medium high. Once the oil is shimmering, add the thinly sliced beets and fry until crispy and beginning to brown on the edges, about 2 to 3 minutes. Once the beets are cooked, remove from the pan. Set the beets aside on a paper-towel lined plate and season with just a touch of salt.

Plate it up: Top the farro with the crispy beets and the remaining parsley. Serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy!

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8 Reviews

This was really delicious!!!! I followed the recipe except for roasting the beets instead of frying them and it was a great main course for dinner. Both veges and non- veges were delighted....YEAH!!!!!! another good and easy option!

Delicious! I was certain that just those ingredients would not be enough to build layers of flavor, but between the great textural contrasts and the tang of the lemon, it was delicious. I plan to make it again next week and may dot it on serving with a little goat cheese and serve it on a bed of bitter greens. Thanks so much to you and nextdoorganics who featured this recipe and got me to it!

This is so simple, so minimal in ingredients, and so good! I found the flavour of my beets to be a tiny bit lost, so I might add some larger chunks of roasted beets next time (I.e., in addition to the crispy beets). I paired this with warmed chard and Brie (as per the filling for the buckwheat crepes featured on this website).